For me, the setting is an important piece of any book or movie. I love being transported to another place. For example, the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining will forever be imprinted in my mind. Although my last novel, The Veil of Shadows, took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, I usually select my home state of Michigan for my books. This summer, I visited Michigan’s upper peninsula and immediately found inspiration there.
The Rugged Beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
There’s something very rugged about the UP. Travel a few miles from the Mackinac bridge, and you’ll find yourself in a beautiful landscape that is cut off from the rest of the state. Cell signals are virtually nonexistent in most areas, and towns are few and far between. This isolation among the woods or the rugged shores of Lake Superior make for a perfect setting for a horror story.
Camping and Inspiration
I love camping, and my husband and I spent a number of nights under the stars. We hiked to the impressive Tahquamanon waterfalls, nicknamed ‘root beer falls’ for their dark, cinnamon-colored water, and along the Lake Superior shoreline whose icy waters always look stormy. All the while, I was plotting my next novel whose working title is Haunted Woods. I envisioned dark spirits hiding among the pines and glilding across the surface of the water.
Culinary Delights of the UP
Another of my favorite parts of a UP vacation is the food. Handheld meat pies, pasties, are one of my favorite meals. I love the fresh perch and lake trout along with my very favorite: smoked fish. It’s also possible to get wild rice and jam made from wild blueberries and thimbleberries, large, sour versions of raspberries. Add to that the craft beers at one of the many breweries, and you’ll have a meal you won’t forget.
I hope that I can do justice to this untrammeled paradise. Although it is a beautiful place to visit, it doesn’t get the crowds that other places do. There are an impressive amount of abandoned motels and business, signs that it isn’t easy to make a living north of the bridge. This contrast between natural beauty and human struggles adds a new dimension to the setting, something I hope comes through in my next novel.
What settings have you enjoyed in a novel? Let me know in the comments.
